Time of Ruin - Book Review

Time of Ruin (Ash and Ruin #2)
by Shauna Granger

What is it about:
The world has ended, and hope is the most dangerous thing left.

Battered and bruised after barely escaping San Francisco with their lives, Kat, Dylan, and Blue press north – desperate to reach the possibility of a new home.

But strange, monstrous ravens are tracking the remaining survivors, food is becoming scarce, gasoline is running short, and people are becoming suicidal, making survival almost impossible.

And the Pestas are growing bolder. Somehow, their numbers are growing.

The further north they go, the harder it becomes to ignore the signs that they’ve made a fatal mistake. Kat must face the impossible truth that there is no escape, there is no safe haven, and their worst nightmares don’t come close to their new reality.

What did I think of it:
I fell in love with the first book in this trilogy, so I got my trotters on Time of Ruin as soon as I could. I can tell you the waiting until it was available on bookdepository was torture, I almost caved and bought the ebook instead. But knowing I would want the book in print if I loved it even half as much as World of Ash, made me hold back and wait for the print version.

And Time of Ruin was worth the wait.

Kat and Dylan did have a few moments where I wanted to kick some sense into them, but overall they are likable and acting with common sense. They seem to be immune to the plague that decimated the population, but that doesn't mean there are no dangers that could kill them. There are other (desperate) survivors, a lack of food, and the Pestas to deal with.

Time of Ruin takes off shortly after where book one ended, and soon I was engrossed in the story again. Kat and Dylan decide to go north to find Kat's uncle, but it seems the north isn't the safest place to be. They have to decide whether to push on or come up with another plan, and who to trust.

I love the world building and the Pestas. Granger manages to give a Post Apocalyptic setting something unique with these creepy creatures, while at the same time giving me all the elements I love in Post Apocalyptic stories as well. In World of Ash the Pestas remained mysterious, but in this book there are some discoveries about the Pestas that have me eager to find out even more.

The ending of this book isn't a cliffhanger, but enough things are still left open that I need the next book to see how everything will end.

All in all this is a really cool Post Apocalyptic Young Adult read, and I will wait impatiently for the conclusion of this trilogy. I might try one of Granger's other books in the meantime.

Why should you read it:
If you like Post Apocalyptic YA, you will most probably love this series.